Perceptions of Islamization in the Serbian National Discourse Bojan Aleksov

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Perceptions of Islamization in the Serbian National Discourse Bojan Aleksov Southeast European and Black Sea Studies Vol. 5, No. 1, January 2005, pp. 113–127 Perceptions of Islamization in the Serbian National Discourse Bojan Aleksov BeforeTaylorFBSS5106.sgm10.1080/1468385042000328394Southeast1468-3857Original200551000000JanuaryBorojanAleksovHPHALBOI@phd.ceu.hu and& Article FrancisEuropean (print)/1743-9639Francis 2005 Ltd Ltd and Black (online) Seathe Studies period of nationalism, religious identification constituted a basis for the division of South Slavic peoples and its confines established historic borders within which particular national consciousness developed. Though none of the confessional institutions of South Slavs was strictly national, they acquired such a character through the constant struggle of religious leaderships to differentiate their flock from that of the other faith. Secular intelli- gentsia and political elite as chief proponents of nationalism played a very particular role in such development, adopting and employing religion and religious heritage. Therefore, religious difference is not in itself the basis of antagonism among South Slav peoples, but rather the nature and aims of national ideologies formed as parts of political culture of these peoples and their elite. An important part of such ideologies of antagonisms among all Balkan peoples is the narrative of the phenomena of religious conversions that happened in the past. In the context of religious segregation and emphasized identification of ethnic and religious identity, religious conversions evoke distrust, hate and resistance. The paper discusses the formation of mythologized consciousness about causes, course and conse- quences of islamicization, the most significant conversions in the Serbian history, with a special focus on the role of the Serbian historiography in the process. Change of religion is undoubtedly one of the most unsettling and destabilizing events in a society. It threatens the cohesion of a community and reactions to it are universally defensive, because it necessitates a change of balance between members of different faith communities. In the context of centuries-long religious segregation and firm identification between ethnic and religious identities – as has been the case in the Balkans – religious conversions have evoked a long history of distrust and intolerance that has been the topic of numerous studies. My focus here is on conscious efforts, undertaken mostly from the nineteenth century on, of adoption, employment, and deepening of inherited religious divisions through the representation of Islamization that happened in the past. Correspondence to: Borojan Aleksov, History department, Central European University, Nador u11, 1051 Budapest, Hungary. Email: [email protected] ISSN 1468–3857 (print)/ISSN 1743–9639 (online) © 2005 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/1468385042000328394 114 B. Aleksov My principal source material in studying the genesis and the dynamic of the repre- sentation of Islamization and the factors and forces that shaped it has been the works of sholars, writers and historians whose position is well established in Serbian society. They were, or are, university professors, academicians, textbook authors, ministers and ambassadors – all of them the chief protagonists of cultural production and public opinion formation. This article also examines the recasting and the exploitation of certain aspects of these representations that took place in the years preceding and during the most recent wars in former Yugoslavia. The survival of the mythologized view of Islamization is striking, as it seems to defy the growing distance from the time of the events they refer to, the seemingly insignificant role of religion in modern soci- ety, and the fact that many of them had already been successfully demystified. And in Serbia, there have been studies that have provided alternative, non-nationalist modes of explanation. The last part of the article is dedicated to these examples of contesting the mythologized conversion paradigm. I start by elucidating the role religion had in the formation of the Serbian national consciousness, and showing that religious intol- erance is one of its main features. Religion and Nationalism In the course of the nineteenth century the entire region saw the birth of nationalism, which gradually became the primary, unifying and normative factor in the formation of the collective identity. In the process, nationalism took on numerous religious attributes while religion as such was relegated to a subordinate role. Scholars of nation- alism have demonstrated that national consciousness is shaped through certain phases; national traditions are created and transformed through ample use of inherited reli- gious content, values and symbols. Existing beliefs and knowledge took on new forms, and even more important, gained a new, comprehensive and teleological function in the formation of the national state. Although religion was repressed through modern- ization efforts, secularization and eventually the atheist campaigns of the twentieth century, the nationalism of the Serbs and their neighbours had by then already been built on the historical memory and models that stemmed from and exploited religious divisions and intolerance of the past. One of the few historians who have seriously studied the religious factor in the rise of nationalism among South Slavs, Milorad Ekmec[aorn]ˇica[ue]t ´, thinks that the churches were an exclusive basis for South Slav national movements. On the one hand, their national culture evolved within the framework of a single church or religion, while on the other hand, the churches during critical periods became beacons of social organization. They lost their religious character and refocused on ethical issues, culture and social organization. Although none of the denominational institutions among the South Slavs had been exclusively national, they increasingly acquired such a character during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, through the efforts of church leadership wishing to separate their followers from those of the other reli- gions. In an atmosphere of ‘religious nationalism’, as Ekmec[aorn]ˇica[ue]t ´ calls it, people of the ‘other’ denominations were blamed for all troubles and frustrations. In the minds of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies 115 ordinary people, every neighbour who professed a different religion belonged to an ‘enemy’ civilization. Confrontations between the various religions and denominations represented an insurmountable obstacle to the creation of a single Yugoslav nation on the dominant Herderian or Central European model (according to which the nation is a community of language). Instead, religion became the fault-line between nations. The ‘religious’ nationalisms that were engendered in this way constantly stoked the mythologization of the historical consciousness (as well as the provincialization of culture and extremist politics); religious nationalism, not religious intolerance, formed a basis for the military and political strategies at the time of momentous historical crises (Ekmec[aorn]ˇica[ue]t ´ 1989: 15). In analysing the nationalism of the Yugoslav peoples, special note should be made of the role of the secular intelligentsia and the political elites and how they, as key protag- onists of nationalism, have used religion and the religious legacy in the nation-building project. The blending of religion and nationalism over the past two centuries has strengthened both the religious and the secular elites. Another historian of the region, Ivo Banac, holds the thesis that the cause of the antagonism among the South Slav peoples is not religious differences or unequal economic development, but rather the different structures and objectives of their respective national ideologies and political cultures (Banac 1992: xi). Banac, too, acknowledges that national ideologies are to a large extent historically determined, and that they contain elements of historical deter- minism of cultural and religious differences. But, he posits, of and by themselves religious differences cannot explain the strong divisions among the Balkan peoples. The impact of nationalism and nationalists in exploiting these differences is crucial. One aspect of nationalism used to build barriers and excite antagonism between modern nations is myth about religious conversions. I will illustrate this use in the Serbian case, with a special focus on the role, which mythologized historical narratives about Islamization have played in the process. From Folk Epic to Scientific Fact Folk myths and folk tales offer rich material for the study of religious conversions as momentous events in the world at the time when religious identity was still of primary importance. Notwithstanding the importance of oral culture, however, I shall concen- trate on those persons who have contributed to the creation of the Serbian national consciousness in writing. In this I follow Hobsbawm’s observation that what makes up the main body of knowledge and ideology in a nation, state, or movement is not what is preserved in popular memory, but rather what is selected, written down, visualized, and made popular by those whose task is to do this (Hobsbawn and Ranger 1991: 13). In these works, as we shall see, popular myths and tales that depict the world in a styl- ized and schematized way were often taken for granted and elevated to the level of ‘scientific’ truth. Until the late eighteenth century, cultural life in the Balkans was dominated by
Recommended publications
  • Croatia, ‘Greater Serbianism’, and the Conflict Between East and West
    2441Chapter4 16/10/02 8:04 am Page 98 4 Croatia, ‘Greater Serbianism’, and the conflict between East and West Christ’s remarkable principle: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that use and persecute you.’ That selfless sentiment has remained throughout history a cry of the weak, or an expression of those who have accepted their doom . No matter how many exam- ples can be found in life and history to support such renunciation, it has never overcome the passions of hatred and the desire to dominate or to take revenge. (Franjo Tudjman, Horrors of War) ERBIA WAS CERTAINLY not alone in its revision of history, nor in its use of national mythology. The Croatian government also saw the merits of Sreinterpreting history to buttress their own political objectives. Many of Croatia’s most interesting national myths were created well before the collapse of Yugoslavia. Franjo Tudjman’s rise to power in 1990, and the even- tual independence of Croatia, after almost five decades of Communist federalism, engendered a fertile climate for national myth creation. Croatia’s national propaganda evolved within an authoritarian context, and many of the central themes favoured by Croatian writers were similar to those advanced by their Serbian counterparts. The spectre of ‘Greater Serbia’ – which became likened to an anti-Semitism for Croats – was remarkably similar to Serbophobia. Many other myths appeared to be a reaction to a fear and strong distrust of the Serbs. Several, like the ‘state right’ tradition, the Antemurale Christianitatis, and Medjugorje, proved the existence of a civilised, peace-loving and enlightened Croatia.
    [Show full text]
  • Steven Seegel CV Revised April 2020
    Steven Seegel CV revised April 2020 Professor of Russian, Central and East European, and Eurasian History Department of History University of Northern Colorado, Box 116 Greeley, Colorado 80639 USA Office: 970-351-2082 Email: [email protected] ​ EMPLOYMENT 2017-present Professor, Department of History, University of Northern Colorado 2012-2017 Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Northern Colorado 2008-2012 Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Northern Colorado 2008 Director, Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI), Harvard University 2008 Guest Curator, “Visualizing Ukraine: A Western Cartographic Perspective,” Pusey Library Exhibit, Harvard University 2007-2008 Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of History and Political Science, Worcester State College 2006-2007 Eugene and Daymel Shklar Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University 2005-2006 Lecturer, Department of History, University of Tennessee-Knoxville 2005-present Translator (Russian and Polish) of nearly 300 source entries, Geoffrey Megargee and Martin C. Dean, eds., The United States ​ Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945, 7 vols., United States Holocaust Memorial ​ Museum and Indiana University Press (2009 and 2011) 1995-1999 Library Assistant and Database Designer, Special Collections Department of Genealogy, Local History and Rare Books, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, Buffalo, New York EDUCATION Ph.D.,
    [Show full text]
  • National Myths in Interdependence
    National Myths in Interdependence: The Narratives of the Ancient Past among Macedonians and Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia after 1991 By Matvey Lomonosov Submitted to Central European University Nationalism Studies Program In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts CEU eTD Collection Advisor: Professor Maria Kovács Budapest, Hungary 2012 Abstract The scholarship on national mythology primarily focuses on the construction of historical narratives within separate “nations,” and oftentimes presents the particular national ist elites as single authors and undisputable controllers of mythological versions of the past. However, the authorship and authority of the dominant national ist elites in designing particular narratives of the communal history is limited. The national past, at least in non- totalitarian societies, is widely negotiated, and its interpretation is always heteroglot . The particular narratives that come out of the dominant elites’ “think-tanks” get into a polyphonic discursive milieu discussing the past. Thus they become addressed to alternative narratives, agree with them, deny them or reinterpret them. The existence of those “other” narratives as well as the others’ authorship constitutes a specific factor in shaping mythopoeic activities of dominant political and intellectual national elites. Then, achieving personal or “national” goals by nationalists usually means doing so at the expense or in relations to the others. If in this confrontation the rivals use historical myths, the evolution of the later will depend on mutual responses. Thus national historical myths are constructed in dialogue, contain voices of the others, and have “other” “authors” from within and from without the nation in addition to “own” dominant national ist elite.
    [Show full text]
  • Is the Albanianˇs Religion Really ˝Albanianism˛?
    Is the Albanian’s religion really “Albanianism”? Religion and nation according to Muslim and Christian leaders in Albania Bearbeitet von Cecilie Endresen 1. Auflage 2013. Taschenbuch. XI, 275 S. Paperback ISBN 978 3 447 06561 0 Format (B x L): 17 x 24 cm Gewicht: 670 g Weitere Fachgebiete > Religion > Religionswissenschaft Allgemein > Dialog & Beziehungen zwischen Religionen schnell und portofrei erhältlich bei Die Online-Fachbuchhandlung beck-shop.de ist spezialisiert auf Fachbücher, insbesondere Recht, Steuern und Wirtschaft. Im Sortiment finden Sie alle Medien (Bücher, Zeitschriften, CDs, eBooks, etc.) aller Verlage. Ergänzt wird das Programm durch Services wie Neuerscheinungsdienst oder Zusammenstellungen von Büchern zu Sonderpreisen. Der Shop führt mehr als 8 Millionen Produkte. Table of Content Acknowledgements .................................. IX PART 1 Background ....................................... 1 1.1 Preface ...................................... 1 Introduction ..................................... 1 Albanians and the religious issue . .......... 2 Research questions ................................ 4 Overview of thesis ............................... 4 1.2 Material and method . 5 Background ....................................... 5 Fieldwork ........................................ 6 Presentation of primary sources: persons and institutions . 14 Technicalities, transcription, translation, and terminology . 30 1.3 Theoretical framework . ........ 31 Introduction ...................................... 31 The Study of Religion:
    [Show full text]
  • Political Myths in the Former Yugoslavia and Successor States
    POLITICAL MYTHS IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND SUCCESSOR STATES. A SHARED NARRATIVE INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION SERIES Published under editorial responsibility of The Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation The Hague VOLUME 1 POLITICAL MYTHS IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND SUCCESSOR STATES A SHARED NARRATIVE Edited by Vjekoslav Perica and Darko Gavrilović Translation: Dana Todorović A joint production of the Centre for History, Democracy and Reconciliation, Novi Sad and The Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation, The Hague DORDRECHT 2011 Cover Design / Illustration: DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this book are those of the authors alone. They do not necessarily reflect views of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ISSN 2211-3061 hardbound ISBN 9789089790668 paperback ISBN 9789089790675 © 2011 Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation and Republic of Letters Publishing BV, Dordrecht, The Netherlands / St. Louis, MO. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Republic of Letters Publishing has made all reasonable efforts to trace all rights holders to any copyrighted material used in this work. In cases where these efforts have not been successful the publisher welcomes communications from copyright holders, so that the appropriate acknowledgements can be made in future editions, and to settle other permission matters. Authorization to photocopy items for personal use is granted by Republic of Letters Publishing BV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • An Inter-State War in the Post-Cold War Era: Eritrea-Ethiopia (1998-2000)
    LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE An Inter-state War in the Post-Cold War Era: Eritrea-Ethiopia (1998-2000) Alexandra Magnolia Dias A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations 2008 UMI Number: U501303 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U501303 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 v \& & > F 'SZV* AUTHOR DECLARATION I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Alexandra Magnolia Dias The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without prior consent of the author. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I understand that in the event of my thesis not being approved by the examiners, this declaration will become void.
    [Show full text]
  • National Convention 2009
    National Convention 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies November 12–15, 2009 Boston, Massachusetts American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies 41st National Convention November 12–15, 2009 Marriott Copley Place Boston, Massachusetts American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies 8 Story Street, 3rd fl oor Cambridge, MA 02138 tel.: 617-495-0677, fax: 617-495-0680 e-mail: [email protected] web site: www.aaass.org iii CONTENTS Convention Schedule Overview ................................................................. iv List of the Meeting Rooms at the Marriott Copley Place ............................ v Diagrams of Meeting Rooms .................................................................vi–ix Exhibit Hall Diagram ...................................................................................x Index of Exhibitors, Alphabetical................................................................ xi Index of Exhibitors, by Booth Number .......................................................xii 2009 AAASS Board of Directors ...............................................................xiii AAASS National Offi ce .............................................................................xiii Program Committee for the Boston, MA Convention ................................xiii AAASS Affi liates .......................................................................................xiv 2009 AAASS Institutional Members ......................................................... xv Program
    [Show full text]
  • Race and the Yugoslav Region THEORY for a GLOBAL AGE
    CATHERINE BAKER AND THE POOSTSSOOCICIALA ISST,T, PPOSSTT-CONNFFLLICCT,T POPOSTS COOLOLONNIIALA ? Race and the Yugoslav region THEORY FOR A GLOBAL AGE Series Editor: Gurminder K. Bhambra, Professor of Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies in the School of Global Studies, University of Sussex Globalization is widely viewed as a current condition of the world, but there is little engagement with how this changes the way we understand it. The Theory for a Global Age series addresses the impact of globalization on the social sciences and humanities. Each title will focus on a particular theoretical issue or topic of empirical controversy and debate, addressing theory in a more global and interconnected manner. With contributions from scholars across the globe, the series will explore different perspectives to examine globalization from a global viewpoint. True to its global character, the Theory for a Global Age series will be available for online access worldwide via Creative Commons licensing, aiming to stimulate wide debate within academia and beyond. Previously published by Bloomsbury: Published by Manchester University Press: Connected Sociologies Gurminder K. Bhambra Debt as Power Tim Di Muzio and Richard H. Robbins Eurafrica: The Untold History of European Integration and Colonialism Subjects of modernity: Time-space, Peo Hansen and Stefan Jonsson disciplines, margins Saurabh Dube On Sovereignty and Other Political Delusions Frontiers of the Caribbean Joan Cocks Phillip Nanton Postcolonial Piracy: Media Distribution John Dewey: The Global
    [Show full text]
  • Balkan Holocausts? Serbian and Croatian Victim Centred Propaganda and the War in Yugoslavia Macdonald, David Bruce
    www.ssoar.info Balkan Holocausts? Serbian and Croatian victim centred propaganda and the war in Yugoslavia MacDonald, David Bruce Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Monographie / monograph Zur Verfügung gestellt in Kooperation mit / provided in cooperation with: OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks) Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: MacDonald, D. B. (2003). Balkan Holocausts? Serbian and Croatian victim centred propaganda and the war in Yugoslavia. (New Approaches to Conflict Analysis). Manchester: Manchester Univ. Press. https://nbn-resolving.org/ urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-271168 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer CC BY-NC-ND Lizenz This document is made available under a CC BY-NC-ND Licence (Namensnennung-Nicht-kommerziell-Keine Bearbeitung) zur (Attribution-Non Comercial-NoDerivatives). For more Information Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu den CC-Lizenzen finden see: Sie hier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.de 2441Prelims 16/10/02 8:02 am Page i BALKAN HOLOCAUSTS? 2441Prelims 16/10/02 8:02 am Page ii New Approaches to Conflict Analysis Series editor: Peter Lawler, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Department of Government, University of Manchester Until recently, the study of conflict and conflict resolution remained compara- tively immune to broad developments in social and political theory. When the changing nature and locus of large-scale conflict in the post-Cold War era is also taken into account, the case for a reconsideration of the fundamentals of conflict analysis and conflict resolution becomes all the more stark. New Approaches to Conflict Analysis promotes the development of new theoretical insights and their application to concrete cases of large-scale conflict, broadly defined.
    [Show full text]
  • Serbian Jerusalem: Religious Nationalism, Globalization and the Invention of a Holy Land in Europe's Periphery, 1985-2017
    Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe Volume 37 Issue 6 Article 3 2017 Serbian Jerusalem: Religious Nationalism, Globalization and the Invention of a Holy Land in Europe's Periphery, 1985-2017 Vjekoslav Perica University of Rijeka Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Eastern European Studies Commons Recommended Citation Perica, Vjekoslav (2017) "Serbian Jerusalem: Religious Nationalism, Globalization and the Invention of a Holy Land in Europe's Periphery, 1985-2017," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 37 : Iss. 6 , Article 3. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol37/iss6/3 This Article, Exploration, or Report is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SERBIAN JERUSALEM: RELIGIOUS NATIONALISM, GLOBALIZATION AND THE INVENTION OF A HOLY LAND IN EUROPE’S PERIPHERY, 1985-2017 By Vjekoslav Perica Vjekoslav Perica is the author of Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States and a number of other scholarly publications. His most recent book, Pax Americana in the Adriatic and the Balkans, 1919-2014, was published in 2015 in Zagreb, Croatia. Perica obtained a PhD in history from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, served as a U.S. Fulbright scholar in Serbia and held research fellowships at the United States Institute of Peace, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, and Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights.
    [Show full text]
  • Solidarity with Migrants and Refugees in Serbia: Gender Stereotypes and the Perception of Cultural Difference Among NGO Workers
    Solidarity with Migrants and Refugees in Serbia: Gender Stereotypes and the Perception of Cultural Difference among NGO Workers By Tamara Cvetković Submitted to Central European University Department of Gender Studies In partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts in Gender Studies. Supervisor: Elissa Helms Second Reader: Nadia Jones-Gailani Budapest, Hungary 2019 CEU eTD Collection Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of original research; it contains no materials accepted for any other degree in any other institution and no materials previously written and/or published by another person, except where appropriate acknowledgement is made in the form of bibliographical reference. I further declare that the following word count for this thesis is accurate: Body of thesis (all chapters excluding notes, references, etc.): 21 744 Entire manuscript: 23 029 Signed: _____________________________ (Tamara Cvetković) CEU eTD Collection i Abstract The thesis deals with the ways in which cultural and gender stereotyping and discursive creation of the images of refugee women and men from the Middle East/Africa affects attitudes of people who work in NGOs providing support to migrants in Serbia. I focus on the ways in which NGO workers navigate their sense of belonging to collective identities and ‘symbolic geographies,’ and how it affects their work and communication with migrants and refugees. The research is based on the interviews and participant observation conducted with people who work with refugees, especially those who had the refugee or activist experience during Yugoslav wars. CEU eTD Collection ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank for the support during my studies and research to: Grupa 484, Dejan Ilić, Ana Kolarić, Robert Kozma, Isidora Grubački, Ivan Krstić, Nevena Ilić, and to my family and relatives.
    [Show full text]
  • Croatian Painting and Art Criticism in the Period of Socialist Realism: Theory Vs
    1 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ART AND POLITICS IN EUROPE IN THE MODERN PERIOD Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Zagreb Ivana Lučića 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia 29 June 2016 − 2 July 2016 ORGANIZER Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Zagreb SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Igor Borozan, University of Belgrade Rajka Bračun Sova, Ljubljana Nadežda Čačinovič, University of Zagreb Simona Čupić, University of Belgrade Frano Dulibić, University of Zagreb Iskra Iveljić, University of Zagreb Franci Lazarini, University of Maribor − France Sterle Institute of Art History, Ljubljana Zvonko Maković, Croatian Society of Art Historians, Zagreb ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Dragan Damjanović, University of Zagreb Lovorka Magaš Bilandžić, University of Zagreb Željka Miklošević, University of Zagreb ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ASSISTANTS Marija Perkec Patricia Počanić STUDENT VOLUNTEERS Ana Aljinović Buga Klara Blanuša Ivana Čvek Karla Hamžik Ileana Kurtović Petra Rukelj Rafaela Tassoti This conference has been partially supported by Croatian Science Foundation under the project 4153 Croatia and Central Europe: Art and Politics in the Late Modern Period (1780-1945). Art and Politics in Europe in the Modern Period 29 June – 2 July 2016, Zagreb, Croatia Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb Programme and book of abstracts Art and Politics in Europe in the Modern Period he position and status of art and artist changed considerably in Europe in the modern period, primarily with the formulation of the concept of artistic genius and Tthe new division of labour that separated artists from artisans. Those dealing with art were looked upon as individuals possessing an extraordinary talent that transcended mere skill. Regardless of this new individuality, artistic genius cannot be equated with complete autonomy.
    [Show full text]